


If you're ready, I'm ready

by Minstrels_y_Troubadors



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Acceptance, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Moving On, POV Outsider, POV Pepper Potts, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 01:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13225461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minstrels_y_Troubadors/pseuds/Minstrels_y_Troubadors
Summary: Five times Pepper realizes Tony isdifferentwith Bruce and one time, she sees he'sdifferentwith her, too.





	1. We've Gotta Let Go Of All Of Our Ghosts.

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely inspired by a mishearing of Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele. Story and chapter titles are taken from that song.

### We've Gotta Let Go Of All Of Our Ghosts. 

#### February

“It was really a simple fix once I got in there.” Tony's smile was smug as it ever was when he got to show off, Pepper ignored it in favor of her note-taking. “Mattson's team has my notes and changes, I don't see any reason we won't have the prototype ready by the Shareholder's meeting.” He continued, not phased by the familiar lack of reaction from his CEO. 

“Sounds good, I'll follow up with him in a couple of months to schedule a demonstration for the board.” She finally looked up at the video display and gave him a pleased smile. “So, I had an idea about the Arc-Tower DC. Could you talk to Steve about lending our cause some of the 'Mom's apple pie' charm with the city commissioners? They've been holding us up for six months, I feel like we need a big gun.”

“Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. That’s what we pay him for after all. “Stark Industries Ambassador for Public Relations,” Tony chuckled, “You were on your game when you came up with that one, Pep.”

She grinned at the compliment and started to reply until she noticed Tony was distracted by something off screen. When he looked back at her his expression was apologetic. 

“Pep, sorry, I need to cut this short, is there anything else we need to talk about?” Her smile shifted to concern. “Everything alright? Is there a Call?”

“Oh, no, no Avenging, I’m just running late. The team's, um.... going to the circus,” he smiled sheepishly and shrugged at her. “Barton wanted to check it out for old time's sake... then I found out Bruce has never been to one so... had to get tickets, ya know? I mean, even Howard took me to a circus.” He shrugged again and his grin was back, “Anyway, Jarvis just reminded me, I've gotta get out of here or else we'll miss the pre-show and it'll be my fault no one gets to pet the elephants.” 

Pepper stared at her boss/business partner/ex as he explained his plans for the evening, blinking and shaking her head in bemusement when he finished. “Um, yeah, that's the important stuff anyway. I'll email you the rest.”

“Awesome, I'll read it, promise! Talk to you later, Pep,” he told her cheerily and cut the call. Pepper stared the blank screen and found herself wondering if that was really the Tony Stark she'd known for 15 years. 

Of course Tony always loved to blow off work, but usually for things involving fast cars, loud parties, explosions or titanium-alloy power armor. Elephants and clowns, that was new. Of course, it wasn't as if she didn't know why he was taking his super team to the circus, he'd told her, and it was the reason Tony had done a lot of things the past few years. He was doing it because Bruce wanted to. 

She tried not to resent him, either of them for the change in Tony's behavior. After all, she'd called an end to their relationship and it hadn't been over his bond with Bruce; she just wasn't cut out for the life they led. Not for the fear, the uncertainty or the wall of secrets and lack of understanding that came between them no matter how hard they'd tried. She didn't regret her choice, but it was hard to see Tony putting so much effort into moving on. She hated that it made her feel insecure and inadequate, how she couldn't make herself be more than civil to Bruce since he'd started seeing Tony.

She sighed, frustrated with herself, and decided that a break was in order, just a few minutes to put her head on right. Buzzing her assistant, she asked for a pot of tea and 15 uninterrupted minutes. She crossed her office to the plush leather sofa and stretched out on it, resting her head in the arm and closing her eyes. She opened them again a few minutes later when her assistant, Marie, came in carrying a tray baring a lovely bone china tea service which she knew was hand painted with butterflies and spring blossoms. The set was Bruce's gift to her that Christmas; she'd left it here at the office, only using it once or twice before. While Marie went back out to fetch the electric kettle, Pepper perused the box assortment of loose teas that had also been part of her gift, settling on a ginger peach white tea. 

As she inhaled the aroma of the leaves and spices, she recalled that Bruce's card had been shoved in her desk, unread beyond the holiday greeting on the front and the signature within. She went back to her desk and rummaged in the drawer until she found the note. She read the message as she crossed back to the sofa.

_“Pepper, I hope you'll forgive me for mentioning it, but you always seem so tense and stressed when I see you. I know your position isn't easy and no matter how used to him you are, Tony's always going to be a handful, so stress is going to be something you deal with quite a bit. I'm something of an expert on stress relief techniques, so I thought I'd share one that might bring you comfort the next time Tony leaves you confused and shaking your head. You'll be surprised how soothing the art of making a perfect cup of tea can be...”_

Marie returned with the kettle of hot water and Pepper thanked her... and asked for an extra 10 minutes of peace and quiet. When she was alone again she set about making the perfect cup of tea. She poured a bit of the water into the empty tea pot and swirled it gently, 'warming the pot' as instructed. Once she could feel the heat on the outside of the pot she poured the still warm water into her cup to warm it as well. _'Warming the pot and cup will help your tea stay warm, so you can enjoy it longer.'_ Next she scooped a few teaspoons of the loose tea into the pot. _'One per serving. Take a second to savor the aroma of the leaves, tea isn't a drink you rush.'_ She poured the water slowly over the leaves and let it steep. While she waited she packed away the tea leaves in their box and tossed the cooling water from her cup into a plant. She kicked off her heels and swung her legs up onto the sofa. Finally, she strained the tea into her cup and settled back comfortably into the sofa, inhaling the aroma and steam. _'If done right, you now have one perfect cup of tea and a stress free mind to enjoy it with. Merry Christmas, Pepper, Bruce.'_

Pepper touched her finger tips to his name on the card as she sipped her tea and was content because the warmth she felt inside wasn't only due to the beverage she drank.


	2. We Both Know We Ain't Kids No More.

###  We Both Know We Ain't Kids No More.

####  May 

“And though it hasn't been easy, we've come this far, exactly the way we mean to go on, by doing it, together. Thank you.” Captain America gives the assembled crowd his earnest, winsome smile, as he brings his arm up to offer them a salute. The gesture is sure and crisp, before he takes a step back from the podium and it turns into a friendly and warm wave. New York City's mayor moves to take his place behind the podium clapping and grinning all the while as Steve returns to his seat on the dais. “Thank _you_ , Captain America, for that inspiring speech, I'm sure I speak for my fellow New Yorkers....” The mayor has turned his attention and his words to his constituents and Pepper tunes the rest of his speech out in favor of congratulating Steve.

“He' right, Steve, that was very inspiring. Just the right amount of rousing 'Yes we can!'” she tells him with a smile, her face only partly turned to him, and he turns just as slightly toward her, smiling more normally, “Thanks, Pepper. I got a lot of help with it from Mr. Ziegler and Mr. Bailey. Thanks to them, I've come a long way from hawking war bonds and punching Hitler,” he tells her with a chuckle. 

She gives her own soft laugh in agreement, “They are some of the best speechwriters in the business. They've kept Tony from making a fool of us all for years.” She throws him a sly smirk as her eyes roam down the row to find Tony. He's on the far end of the dais from her and Steve, when she looks, he has a thoughtful expression on his face and then movement catches draws her eyes to his hands. His fingers are flicking in quick rhythmic movements. Tony is constantly mobile and expressive with his full body, but he's rarely fidgety, and never in public. Concern starts to build and she flicks her eyes back to his face, then out to the crowd, trying to see what he's focused on. Her hands clench together as she scans quickly for a threat, a disturbance, really, anything out of the ordinary, but if something is there, she misses it. She's turning, eyes still searching, to Steve, to bring his superior senses into the act, when she notices Bruce in the front of the crowd. 

Bruce has never warmed to the spotlight and never sits on a dais like this if he can avoid it, which is always, because Tony won't allow anyone to push him on it. Usually, he'll watch on tv, or for really important events, from the side of the stage. It's unusual for Bruce to be part of a crowd, though today she supposes is the ideal day for an exception. Stark Industries, the City of New York and the Avengers are marking the third anniversary of the Battle of New York with a celebration for the completion of the reconstruction of Midtown. It's a positive day, there are speeches of thanks and gratitude, announcements on grants and funds set up on honor and memory of those that fought and fell in the battle and after, there will be a street fair; a reminder that New York stands strong and life goes on. It's meant to be a happy day, but there are certainly people that blame the Avengers for the suffering the City has gone through and no one has better instincts when it comes to danger in a crowd than Bruce. The concern flairs bright and hot as this thought crosses Pepper's mind and she zero's in on Bruce's face for some sign that things are about to go horribly wrong. 

Bruce seems calm, he face is almost totally normal, except... she can see his lips twitching, struggling to hold their neutral line and he eyes aren't moving, they are intensely focused, forward on Tony. And then she notices his fingers are also moving in the same strange way. 

“Steve,” she quietly hisses, “I think something's wrong.” The soldier has no trouble hearing her and tension fills his body as he automatically starts scanning for a threat. “Something is up with Bruce and Tony. Look,” she tells him to guide that sharp focus. Steve ducks his head to subtly look at the pair of scientists.... and the tension eases from him almost immediately. He lets out a soft sigh and looks back to her with a warm, patient smile. 

“Nothing's wrong,” he tells her quietly, “it's just this thing they do now. I guess you haven't been around as much to see it before.” He sees she's puzzled now and leans a bit closer to explain. “Bruce called it Binary Morse Code. Basically, they made up their own sign language. We picked up on it a few months ago, we were having a team meeting and there they were just waggling their fingers at each other and giggling. They're like little kids with it,” he shakes his head slightly and chuckles.

“It doesn't bother you guys? I think I'd get pretty annoyed if two of my friends were constantly talking in code around me.”

“Oh, it ticked me off at first. It felt like they were keeping secrets from the rest of us. There's not a one of us that doesn't understand how fatal secrets can be for people like us. You gotta be able to count on your team, you know? And it's hard to count on people that make no secret of keeping things from you.”

“So, why haven't you put a stop to it? I know Tony can be difficult, but he respects your position as team leader, he'd listen if you put your foot down. And Bruce, of course.”

“Yeah, I know. I was going to, and then Clint said something about how it didn't really bother him because when they got going about science, it was hardly like English anyway. And then, Natasha said, she thought it must be nice, after all this time for them to have met someone that spoke their language. They got me really thinking about it; about how Bruce and Tony both managed to grow up so brilliant and so completely alone. The rest of us found people that could understand us years ago, but how many geniuses do you run into? When you meet someone like that, someone you've spent your whole life waiting on... maybe you need a way to keep them separate from the rest of the world. Maybe you need to make up a language to say all the things that have been dying to come out. I mean, how many couples can have whole conversations with their eyes, or a couple of words said just so? Every couple has their private language. Bruce and Tony just do it on the next level, just like everything else.”

He's silent for a long moment. The mayor's speech ends, they applaud as it they'd been listening at all and the next speaker begins before Steve continues. “I resented it at first because I thought it would endanger the team's bond. But now, I see it as the foundation of that bond. They deserve to have someone understand them and they are both willing to fight for that. The rest of us, we're willing to fight for it too.”


	3. You Told Me You Were Ready, For the One, For the Big Jump

### You Told Me You Were Ready, For the One, For the Big Jump

####  October

This perfectly ordinary Tuesday morning finds Pepper behind her desk, highlighter in hand, sliding smoothly over the page she's reading. The expression on her face is smug satisfaction at numbers in report which show how S.I.'s latest product line is out performing the projections they'd given the board earlier in the year. Several members of the board are going to be forced to eat a significant amount of crow for doubting them, yet again. She turns to the next page contemplating whether in the new year she will finally have shored up her position enough to make changes to the board's line up... That was something to discuss with Tony when she flew to New York for Thanksgiving, and possible candidates for replacements. She reached for her tablet to make a note to come back to that and was startled by her door swinging open without even a cursory knock. Her head shot up and then her eyebrows as Tony strolled in, unannounced and unexpected.

“Morning Pep!” Tony called cheerfully as he crossed to her sitting area and plopped himself down on her sofa. Frowning, she resisted the urge to turn in her chair and make sure that the L.A. Skyline was still outside her window, though she couldn’t stop her eyes from flickering to the clock on her monitor, 9:47. In the years she'd been the man's assistant, he'd rarely come into the office before noon without dire reason, usually involving pleading and nagging on Pepper's part. And here he was, _on the wrong coast_ before ten. 

She turned her confused gaze to Tony, who watched her expectantly and gestured regally, inviting her to join him in one of her own chairs. She sighed in annoyance, but grabbed her tablet and pushed back from her desk, crossing to join him.

She settled in one of the chairs, crossing her ankles and setting the tablet in her lap. Tony smiled at her, but didn't actually say anything. She arched a perfectly plucked brow at him and drummed her nails on the surface of the tablet. The action made him cringe, as she knew it would, but still he held his peace. After a moment, her door opened a second time, though now it was preceded by the light tap that was Marie's custom. Her assistant was carrying a tray, over which she was shooting Pepper an apologetic look. Pepper waved it off, shrugging a shoulder at the women as if to say, 'What could you have done? He does own the place.” Marie set the tray on the low coffee table and gave her boss a grateful smile, even as she asked if there was anything else she could bring them. Tony dismissed her with thanks and leaned forward to grab on of the donuts plated on the tray and the mug of black coffee.

“They're from Randy's,” He informed her, before taking a bite of his donut. “What's going on, Tony?” she asked, finally tiring of the stalling. She reached for her own coffee, saying, “I'm in the middle of reviewing the financial reports for the board meeting, so unless you'd got something to add to that, I'd like to get back to it.”

Tony swallowed and washed the last of his pastry down with a swig of his coffee and plucking his pocket square free, wiped his hands clean of glaze and crumbs. “OK, its not about the financials, but I do have something I want to present to the board, and I'm gonna need you backing me up.” Pepper shifted in her chair, fingers gliding over the tablet surface ready to take notes without her conscious thought. “Oh...kay. Again, what's going on? How bad is this going to be?”

“I don't think it's bad at all. I think it'll be good for everyone, but you know how the board is.” She nodded, of course she knew, better than Tony really, and she waited for him to get tot he point. “Here's what I want to do. Other than non-essential staff, I'd like to shut down S. I. and give our employees a week of extra paid leave between Christmas and New Year. Anyone were can't live without can have that time at a later point in the year.” 

She blinked, frowned and blinked again. “Why, Tony?”

“Well, you know how back in the like, dark ages, kings and shit got married and it was like a national holiday and all the peasants got to party and get drunk in the streets to celebrate? S. I. is like my kingdom and I know we were supposed to call the staff “peasants” but they do work for me, and I'm kinda their king.... Beside, I have to invite the executives and stuff, so it's not really fair that they get to take the time off for my wedding but the people that do the real work don't, right?” he asked her, finally winding down and tipping back his cup as she digested the stream of words, parsing out the important facts. 

“Leaving aside the part where you think you're a king, Tony... what the hell do you mean 'your wedding'?!” Pepper knew her voice was going slightly shrill at the end, and she hated that as much as he did but, there was Tony Stark, once again burying the lead. Tony grinned at her and told her, voice filled with pride, “I proposed, Bruce said yes, we're getting married New Years Eve. Neither of us saw much point in dragging it on, you know?” By the end his smile had softened to something content and real, his whole being radiating happiness that she couldn't help but respond to, the tension she'd felt since he walked in easing and a smile gracing her own lips. “That's wonderful, Tony. When did this happen.”

“Mmmm, about two weeks ago.”  
“Two weeks?!?! Jesus Tony, when were you going to tell me? What the hell have you been doing?” She asked him incredulously. 

“Ummm first, I wanted to tell you in person, figured you'd skin me alive even if I told you in vidchat. And Rhodey said he we gonna be back stateside this week so, two birds,” he tells her, shrugging once shoulder. “As for what I've been doing, I've been busy, _being engaged_.” He says this with such lecherous innuendo that Pepper knows immediately what he means and is defenseless against the blush that tinges her cheeks. Tony's amused and satisfied smirk lets her know it doesn't go unnoticed though, gratefully, it does go unremarked.

Pepper clears her throat, willing the embarrassment away, “Of course. Sorry. The surprise... I wasn't thinking clearly. But congratulations, and thank you for coming to tell me. You're right, I'd have been pissed if you told me over the phone,” she laughs and both of them relax again. “Is Bruce in town too? I'd like to congratulate him too.” “No, he's telling his family. We figured it was better to do it separately than argue about who's family to tell first. Plus, since I need to be here to convince the board, no reason he shouldn't have a few days with the fam.” 

“And... there's another thing I wanted to ask you, in private.” The hesitance in his voice made her sit forward, mood shifting to serious and concerned in response.

“I want you to know how important you are to me, Pep, and that I'm grateful you've been so supportive, in spite of everything I've put you through over the years, especially the last couple... I'll understand if the answer is no, ok? But... I'd really like you to be my Lady of Honor. I don't want to get married without you there. You've been my family for so long, I need to know that won't change now that he's my family too.” His vulnerability makes a lump appear in her throat and she's unashamed of the way her eyes water. She reaches out to grasp his hand and with a tug, they are both on their feet, hugging awkwardly over the table. 

“Of course, I will, Tony. I'd be honored to stand you with you.” Tony sighs and sags in relief and he shuffles around the table to hug her more firmly, softly murmuring 'thank you' in her ear.


	4. I'm Giving You up. I've Forgiven It All. You Set Me Free.

### I'm Giving You up. I've Forgiven It All. You Set Me Free.

#### Christmas

Pale winter sunlight was the first thing that registered to Pepper as she woke. It streamed in the high window to her left, casting its glow over her. As her mind surfaced from the cobwebs of sleep she next registered the rap tap tapping upon her chamber door. Stretching and yawning sleepily, she shifted the covers and swung her self up t sit on the edge of the bed. “Just a minute,” she called, pushing up and crossing to her rob, tossed over the back of the desk chair. Shrugging into it, she moved to the door, pulling as tying the sash before she reached for the knob.

She was greeted by the smiling face of her cousin Helena. Three years older, an inch or two shorter and with hair the shade of rust, Helena and Pepper still managed to favor each other enough to have been taken for sisters most of their lives. As an only child, Pepper had cherished the sisterly bond that had grown between them and now, as adults, seeing Helena was one of the best parts of coming home.

“Merry Christmas, Vi!” the other woman greeted, wrapping Pepper in a warm tight hug. “Merry Christmas, Hel,” she returned, smiling softly and brushing her lips against her cousin's cheek as she returned the embrace. “How are you?” Pepper asked, releasing her and stepping back into the bedroom to let her cousin enter. “Oh, same old, same old. Too busy, too tired, but still kicking,” Helena answered pragmatically, picking up two coffee mugs from the hall table before she followed. Pepper accepted a cup with thanks and the two women moved to the bed, sitting together against the headboard, blanket pulled up over their laps as they had done countless times in their lives. 

Here, in Pepper's childhood bedroom the two had learned about life, and relationships, about heartache and finding what they wanted in this world. Nearly every Christmas since Helena had taken off to Colorado State and three years later, Pepper had gone on to Smith, they'd returned to the comfortable Iowa home Pepper had grown up in to spend time with their family at large, but mostly to reconnect with one another. Pepper felt the need to maintain this tradition even more in the past fire years, given everything she'd been through with Tony and S. I. a few days of peace and sanity to bolster her for the new year's madness.

The sipped their coffees and chatted casually for several minutes while Pepper woke fully, until Helena finally brought them round to the inevitable. 

“I read about Tony getting married next week... Are you going?” Helena asked gently as though preparing for a torrent of tears and gnashing of teeth. Pepper couldn't help laugh at the thought and gave Helena's hand a pat when her face became even more concerned.

“Yes, I'm going to the wedding. In fact, Tony asked me to be his “Lady of Honor”. Jim's best man and Happy is standing in for his parents. Everyone has a little part to play,” she informed the other woman who looked back at her with surprise.

“Your ex asked you to be in his wedding, to someone else, and you said yes? Oh, you modern girls!” Helena exclaimed, imitating a familiar comments their grandmother had often made when she was confused and exasperated by them, it made Pepper laugh again to be reminded.

“It is pretty modern,” She agreed, grinning, “But, its the reality we live in. I love Tony. He's still one of my best friends; he's family to me, as much as you are. I wouldn't turn you down, it you'd been the one asking me, Hel, and I couldn't say no to him.”

“Well you and I have never slept together, either.”  
“So it's not a perfect metaphor,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes, “Still, Tony hasn't done anything that would lead me to turn him down. I know I was... not on board with he and Bruce's relationship,” she caught the arching of her cousin's eyebrow and amended quickly, “Okay, okay, I was pissed off and jealous as fuck. But that was on me, not him. Not either of them. I left Tony. We wanted different things in life, we were struggling to make it work on any level really. I knew that then, and I've never regretted that choice. What I regret is how much I resented him for moving on. Someone I love met their soulmate and I couldn't even stand to be in the same room with them. I never thought I was a particularly selfish person, Hel, but these past few months, I've been forced to revise that. No one hurt me but myself, and I risked losing Tony for good by not admitting that sooner.”

Pepper swallows the remainder of her coffee and rolls the cup between her palms, lost on thought while Helena waits, patiently at ease for her to go on. 

“I'm ready to move on, Hel. I'm ready to let go of the past and send him off with his true love. In fact, I can hardly wait for this week to pass.” Helena smiled gently at her, squeezing her hand and after a moment, turning the conversation to family gossip.


	5. Your Last Love, Everlasting

###  Your last love; Everlasting

####  New Years Eve 11 pm EST

_I don't get many things right the first time, In fact, I am told that a lot Now I know all the wrong turns the stumbles, And falls brought me here. And where was I before the day That I first saw your lovely face, Now I see it every day_

The soft chords from the piano under Tony's equally soft voice barely drift to her as she enters the room. Had the piano bar not been empty save for Jim and Happy and Tony himself, she'd probably not have heard the words at all. 

_What if I had been born fifty years before you In a house on the street Where you lived Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike. Would I know? And in a wide sea of eyes I see one pair that I recognize_

Jim and Happy are behind Tony, seated side by side at the bar, a glass of scotch at each of their hands. On the piano is another for Tony himself, and waiting next to it is her martini, with three olives. She assumes Jim has bar tending duty, since Tony had asked the hotel to have this space emptied for them, so that he could play in peace and still his nerves. She's relieved too, that they aren't all locked in Tony's ready suite waiting for the ceremony to begin. There's no telling what Tony might think up with nothing to occupy my hands or mind but the suite's minibar. Even Tony would feel the sting of a bill for damages from the Waldorf-Astoria. In comparison, renting out one small lounge for a few hours hardly added anything onto the bill for the wedding. 

_I love you more then have Ever found the way to say To you_

Tony smiled at her as she perched on the piano bench next to him, lifting her glass to sip from. His voice rose and crested over the lyrics, trembling for a moment in his throat before he brought them back down and the longing in his tone made Pepper shiver.

_Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties and one day Passed away in his sleep, And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days, and passed away I'm sorry I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong, That I know That I am, I am, I am, the luckiest_

Tony's voice trailed off, though his finger played on for a few more cords before they to came to a rest. Pepper leaned into his side, brushing a soft kiss on his cheek. “I talked to the wedding planner, we're nearly ready,” she tells the room at large, though its mostly for Tony, “Most of the guests have arrived, she's just wants to make sure a few more things are perfect. They should be here to take us up to the roof garden in about fifteen minutes.” Tony tips back his remaining drink and reaches into his suit coat, pulling out a small box and envelope.

“Pep, will you to take this to Bruce, and then meet us up there? I wanted to make sure he'd have it when we got to the alter.” He presses the items into her hands and she agrees, of course, because its Tony, and because it's his wedding day... night. “Thanks Pep, he says quietly, giving her a brief peck on the mouth and she gathers herself and her drink to go.

Pepper rides up to the 19th floor where Bruce has his ready suite, when the door opens in response to her knock the atmosphere is far more party-like than the one down in the lounge. Thor has answered the door and he greets her brightly, looking as regal as a price aught in his black tuxedo with its burnished gold waistcoat and black tie. His hair is braided back from his handsome face and she is sure that the paparazzi have probably filled their SD cards with pictures of the Asgardian Prince.

She listened to Thor's commentary of the day's pre-wedding activities as he led her to the bedroom that Bruce is spending a few moments of quiet in. She exchanged smiles and greetings with the other Avengers as they made last minute checks of themselves and each other. Thor knocked on the bedroom door for her and then excused himself telling her he hoped to share a dance with her later. Pushing the door open at Bruce's invitation, she entered the quiet room and closed off the rest behind her.

“Hi, Pepper. Everything okay with Tony? He didn't get kicked out did he?” Bruce asked her, reaching for humor to cover his nerves. She rewarded him with a light chuckle and shook her head. “Everything is fine. He's actually been a model student. And in about 10 minutes they should be sending us all up to get this show on the road.”

“I'm just here to bring you a last minute gift from Tony. He said he wanted to make sure you had it at the alter.” She passed him the box and envelope and waited for him to either open them or dismiss her. He doesn't disappoint her, quickly running his thumb under the envelope's flap and pulling the note free and reading it aloud.

_Bruce,_  
__We aren't much for tradition, and we make our own luck,__  
__still, I couldn't ignore this one, when I had something that__  
__could tick all the boxes. Wear these, as you become my__  
__husband and let them be your Something Old, because__  
__they ruined my past, your Something New because I shaped__  
__them into something better. Your something Borrowed,__  
__because they came from me, and your something Blue__  
__because, well you can see why.__  
__Yours.__  


Bruce opened the box revealing a pair of cuff links with ice blue stones cut and polished to resemble the arc reactor. Stuck in the lid of the box was a small label that read _Made from shrapnel, circa 2008, Afghanistan_. Bruce lifted the cuff links from the box, and turned to her for help putting them in. “I didn't know he had any of the pieces,” he confessed quietly.

“Dr. Yensen gave them to him, the pieces he could remove. I think he meant it at some sort of lesson to Tony. Last time I saw them though, he was tossing the vial into a drawer in his workshop... That was about two weeks after he came home. I'm glad he found a better use for them.”

Taking her off guard, Bruce stepped into her space and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, for being there through everything I missed Pepper. I'd be lost without your help filling in the gaps... And I wouldn't know what I was missing if I'd never met him, but I know I would've felt the loss every day all the same. That’s for being there for him, Pepper. “ She rubbed Bruce's back, holding on til the emotional moment passed.

Natasha poked her head in the door while the held each other, “It's time, guys,” she informed the pair, and Pepper kissed Bruce's cheek and stepped back, smiling widely. “It's been my please, being part of Tony's life. Lets get you married and it'll be my pleasure to be there for you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics are from _The Luckiest_ by Ben Folds


	6. Treat Her Better

### Treat Her Better

####  New Years Day

When there is a knock on the door to her Tower apartment just before 1 pm on New Years Day, Pepper tries not to feel irritation. Even though it'd been a late night at the reception, she's already up and having coffee so its not like they are waking her. Still, she wants to spend the last full day of her vacation in peace. The knocking picks up again and she sighs, telling J.A.R.V.I.S. to let whoever it is in. She's surprised when her visitor is Clint, doubly so by the large bouquet of flowers he's carrying in a crystal vase.

“They're from Tony,” he says, noticing her confusion right off. “After he realized that he'd given the week off to everyone with clearance for these floors. He asked me to make sure you got these,” Clint sets the vase on her dining table and points to the envelope poking out of the center, “Note the Note.” Duty done he tosses her a two finger salute and turns to go; Pepper barely manages to call a thank you at his back before the door is closing. Then, she up and moving to the flowers, pulling the note free.

Pep,

I've asked you to do many difficult things over the years,  
I know people have questioned why you go along with  
me many times. They've gossiped about us and treated  
you horribly because they thought they knew what was  
going on between us. I know its been the same since I  
asked you to be in my wedding.

I know it wasn't easy for you to see me moving on,  
to see me changing for Bruce in ways I should have for you.  
Of everything I've done to hurt you over the years,  
I feel worse about that because I can't ignore anymore  
how badly I failed you.

That's why it means so much to me that you were here  
for me today. I wanted your blessing and I needed your  
support. I don't always show it, but I know I wouldn't  
be here without you. Everything I have, I have because  
you were by my side, everyday. Thank you for never  
turning your back on me, or letting me drive you away.

Thank you for giving me a family when I was hopelessly  
alone.

Love,  
Tony

Pepper reads the letter once, twice and sets it aside, pressing her face into the flowers, inhaling their sweet scent and watering their petals with tears of pride, hope, and love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. This story has been rolling around in my mind for a long time. It's not perfect bit it's alive. Happy 2018, World.  
> -MT


End file.
